REVIEW: The Earl’s Intended Wife by Louise Allen
Dear Ms Allen,
The first third of your book is delightful. Loved the characters, loved their actions and interactions. The second third is done well but contains the action which will drive the plot for the remainder of the book. My warning is that some will think it too improbable (me) and some will find it distasteful. In last third you have some high handed actions by the hero (which I was willing to excuse because he really does have the best interests of the heroine and other’s in mind) and feature lots of scenes that while fun to read, really don’t contribute anything to resolving the relationship of the two leads. Plus there is a series of little misunderstandings that are needed to continue the book but which get old. I think maybe you made the hero a little too noble and self sacrificing. But I did enjoy the servant characters and their insights into the main characters and their actions.
Another drawback for me is that we never see the hero’s point of view. I know that you had to do this for the sake of your plot but I really like Alex and wanted to see his thoughts and feelings. Instead, we have to make due with seeing him through the eyes of the heroine and other secondary characters. But on the good side, the book is mainly about the relationship between hero and heroine without a lot of extraneous issues. Yeah!
So, good main characters, who act (mainly) intelligently and in period plus nice period detail lead to a book that I really do like. I am looking forward to reading more by you. Oh and what a nice cover you got for your first book. No bared chests (male or female), kinda sorta a depiction of a scene from the book and the hero doesn’t look like a stock American model posing as an Englishman. Wow!
~Jayne
